Matthew 22 is the twenty-second chapter in the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

section of the Christian

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

. Jesus continues his final ministry in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

before his

Passion Passion, the Passion or the Passions may refer to: Emotion * Passion (emotion), a very strong feeling about a person or thing * Passions (philosophy), emotional states as used in philosophical discussions * Stoic passions, various forms of emotio ...

. Teaching in the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

, Jesus enters into debate successively with the

Pharisees The Pharisees (; ) were a Jews, Jewish social movement and school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. Following the Siege of Jerusalem (AD 70), destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, Pharisaic beliefs became ...

, allied with the

Herodians The Herodians (; ) were a sect of Hellenistic Jews mentioned in the New Testament on two occasions – first in Galilee and later in Jerusalem – being hostile to Jesus (, ; ; cf. also , ). In each of these cases their name is coupled with that o ...

, the

Sadducees The Sadducees (; ) were a sect of Jews active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. The Sadducees are described in contemporary literary sources in contrast to ...

, and a lawyer, ultimately silencing them all.

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

. This chapter is divided into 46 verses. The narrative can be divided into the following subsections: * Parable of the Great Banquet (22:1–14) * Render unto Caesar... (22:15–22) *Marriage at the Resurrection (22:23–33) *

Great Commandment The Great Commandment (or Greatest Commandment) is a name used in the New Testament to describe the first of two commandments cited by Jesus in Matthew 22 (), Mark 12 (), and in answer to him in Luke 10 (), According to Jesus of Nazareth, th ...

(22:34–40) *"Is the Messiah the son of David?" (22:41–46)

Textual witnesses

Some early

manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...

containing the text of this chapter are: *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Old Testament and the majority of the New Testament. It is designated by siglum B or 03 in the Gregory-Aland numb ...

(AD 325–350) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (; Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), also called the Sinai Bible, is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament, including the deuterocanonica ...

(330–360) *

Codex Bezae The Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis is a bi-lingual Greek and Latin manuscript of the New Testament written in an uncial hand on parchment. It is designated by the siglum D or 05 in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts, and � ...

( 400) *

Codex Washingtonianus Codex Washingtonianus, Codex Washingtonensis, Codex Freerianus, also called the ''Washington Manuscript of the Gospels'', ''The Freer Gospel'' and ''The Freer Codex'', is a Greek uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, written on parchment. It is de ...

( 400) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, written on parchment. It is designated by the siglum C or 04 in the Biblical manuscript#Gregory-Aland, Gregory-Aland numbering of New ...

( 450) *

Codex Purpureus Rossanensis The Rossano Gospels, designated by 042 or Σ (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 18 ( Soden), held at the cathedral of Rossano in Italy, is a 6th-century illuminated manuscript Gospel Book written following the reconquest of the Italian peninsul ...

(6th century) *

Codex Sinopensis The Sinope Gospels, designated by O or 023 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 21 ( Soden), also known as the Codex Sinopensis, is a fragment of a 6th-century illuminated Greek Gospel Book. Along with the Rossano Gospels, the Sinope Gospels has ...

(6th century; extant verses 1–7, 13–14, 32–34)

Old Testament references

* : * : * : * :

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of H ...

The wedding feast (22:1–14)

Dale Allison Dale C. Allison Jr. (born November 25, 1955) is an American historian and Christian theologian. His areas of expertise include the historical Jesus, the Gospel of Matthew, Second Temple Jewish literature, and the history of the interpretation ...

notes that the passage consists of an introduction (verse 1), the parable itself (verses 2–13b) and a commentary (verses 13c and 14: ''there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for many are called, but few are chosen'').Allison, D. Jr., ''Matthew'', in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001)
The Oxford Bible Commentary
pp. 872–4 Protestant biblical commentator

Heinrich Meyer Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer (10 January 1800 – 21 June 1873) was a German Protestant divine. He wrote commentaries on the New Testament and published an edition of that book. Biography Meyer was born in Gotha. He studied theology at Jena, was ...

creates a similar break in

verse 13 Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse (poetry), a line or lines in a poetic composition * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict meter or rhyme, but still re ...

, with the final words of the king in the story being "take him away, and cast him into outer darkness" and Jesus adding the remark ''there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth''.Meyer, H. A. W.
Meyer's NT Commentary: Matthew 22
accessed 14 March 2021 Although the topic concerns a wedding feast, the dominant idea here concerns the guests who have been invited to attend.

R. T. France Richard Thomas France (1938–2012), known as R. T. France or Dick France, was a New Testament scholar and Anglican cleric. He was Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, from 1989 to 1995. He also worked for the London School of Theology. ...

suggests that the theological theme of replacement is very strong in this

parable A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, whe ...

, when ''those who had been invited'' but refused the repeated invitations, and even murdered the messengers, were substituted by the ''new people'' from unlikely groups, from ''the street corners'', including ''both good and bad'', as the guests.

Verse 1

:''And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said:'' Meyer suggests that Jesus' reply, "by way of rejoinder", was his answer to the chief priests' and scribes' desire to arrest him in the previous verse ( Matthew 21:46). A number of modern English translations lack wording corresponding to the , ''kai apokritheis'': for example, the

Jerusalem Bible ''The Jerusalem Bible'' (JB or TJB) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd. As a Catholic Bible, it includes 73 books: the 39 books shared with the Hebrew Bible, along with the seven deuterocanonical ...

reads: ''Jesus began to speak to them in parables once again'' and the

New International Version The New International Version (NIV) is a translation of the Bible into contemporary English. Published by Biblica, the complete NIV was released on October 27, 1978, with a minor revision in 1984 and a major revision in 2011. The NIV relies ...

reads ''Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ...'' The Revised Geneva Translation (2019) maintains the wording ''Then Jesus answered, and spoke to them again in parables, saying...''

Verse 5

:''But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.'' Those invited to the wedding feast declined to attend. Meyer suggests that those who left "having paid no attention" formed the majority, while "the rest", in verse 6, formed a smaller "remainder" of the invitees.

Verse 13

:''Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, ake him away, andcast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth'.'' The words "take him away, and" (ἄρατε αὐτὸν καὶ) are missing from the critical ''

Novum Testamentum Graece (''The New Testament in Greek'') is a critical edition of the New Testament in its original Koine Greek published by ''Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft'' (German Bible Society), forming the basis of most modern Bible translations and biblical crit ...

''. Meyer argues that "the word ἄρατε, not being needed to complete the picture, was struck out. The reading of the

Received text The (Latin for 'received text') is the succession of printed Greek New Testament texts starting with Erasmus' ''Novum Instrumentum omne'' (1516) and including the editions of Robert Estienne, Stephanus, Theodore Beza, Beza, the House of Elzevir ...

hich includes these wordsought to be maintained".

Roman taxation (22:15–22)

A trap was laid for Jesus by the Pharisees and the Herodians concerning the Roman poll-tax, which was fiercely opposed by patriotic Jews, but Jesus exposed those who asked the question as ''hypocrites''. France notes that they carried the ''

denarius The ''denarius'' (; : ''dēnāriī'', ) was the standard Ancient Rome, Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the ''antoninianus''. It cont ...

'': the coin bears Caesar's ''idolatrous'' portrait with the ''inscription'' "Son of God".

Verse 19

:'' esus said,"Show Me the tax money".'' :''So they brought Him a denarius''. The "tax money" was τὸ νόμισμα τοῦ κήνσου (''to nomisma tou kēnsou''), associated with the

Roman census The censor was a magistrate in ancient Rome who was responsible for maintaining the census, supervising public morality, and overseeing certain aspects of the government's finances. Established under the Roman Republic, power of the censor was lim ...

(

Luke 2 Luke 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament, traditionally attributed to Luke the Evangelist, a companion of Paul the Apostle on his missionary journeys. It contains an account of Jesus's birth in Bethlehem, "its announ ...

:1–5,

Acts 5 Acts 5 is the fifth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the growth of the early church and the obstacles it encountered. The book containing this chapter is anonymous but early Christian trad ...

:37).

The Resurrection (22:23–33)

The

held no belief in afterlife, because they maintained that it was not taught in any of

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

' five books, the only authoritative Scriptures they accepted. Jesus pointed out that the basis of the belief in resurrection can be found within the books of Moses, specifically citing .

The Greatest Commandment (22:34–40)

A question is asked by a lawyer, one of the Pharisees: :''Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?'' France describes the combination of and as a brilliantly creative idea, as it brings the focus on the two halves of the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...

as a foundation of life, and sums up that duty as ''love'', that is, a God-like attitude beyond the specific requirements of the Law. The Jerusalem Bible suggests that the reference to a lawyer is not original but borrowed from

Luke 10 Luke 10 is the tenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christianity, Christian Bible. It records the sending of seventy disciples by Jesus, Parable of the Good Samaritan, the famous parable about the Good Samaritan, and his ...

:25, ''There was a lawyer who, to disconcert

esus Esus is a Celtic god known from iconographic, epigraphic, and literary sources. The 1st-century CE Roman poet Lucan's epic ''Pharsalia'' mentions Esus, Taranis, and Teutates as gods to whom the Gauls sacrificed humans. This rare mention of Cel ...

...''

'Son of David?' (22:41–46)

:''While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,'' Jesus now asks a question of the Pharisees.

Johann Bengel Johann Albrecht Bengel (24 June 1687 – 2 November 1752), also known as ''Bengelius'', was a Lutheran pietist clergyman and Greek-language scholar known for his edition of the Greek New Testament and his commentaries on it. Life and career Be ...

suggests that this was not merely the Pharisees gathering together as a group, but gathering "solemnly", having assembled in verse 34 as a result of them hearing that the Sadducees had been "put to silence". In his answer, France suggests that Jesus was warning the people against judging his ministry in traditional terms, because far from being enthroned in Jerusalem as a king like David, he would soon be put to death on the cross, where he would be known at last not as a Son of David (a title that ceases to exist), but as '

Son of God Historically, many rulers have assumed titles such as the son of God, the son of a god or the son of heaven. The term "Son of God" is used in the Hebrew Bible as another way to refer to humans who have a special relationship with God. In Exo ...

' ( Matthew 27:54). Similarly,

Wilhelm de Wette Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wette (12 January 1780 – 16 June 1849) was a German theologian and biblical scholar. Life and education Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wette was born 12 January 1780 in Ulla (now part of the municipality of Nohra), Thu ...

suggests that Jesus' object was "to awaken a higher idea of His (non-political) mission", but according to Meyer, in opposition to de Wette, this view "is not favoured by the context, which represents Jesus as victor over His impudent and crafty foes, who are silenced and then subjected to the castigation" which is described next, in chapter 23.

Verse 46

:''And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.'' This verse ends the "Son of David" dialogue; the

states that no-one in the gathering "could think of anything to say in reply".Matthew 22:46, Jerusalem Bible It also closes off the whole narrative from Matthew 21:23 onwards, where Jesus has been addressed with "question after question".

References

Sources

* *

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Gospel of Matthew Gospel of Matthew chapters